Glamourous Lies
by Azavara D'mattiae
Summary: Miriam Gentry is the last of her kind, the last of a kind time forgot, using glamour she passes as a human, but how long until she's discovered? As the newest DADA PROF. she has a chance at normalcy, and sometimes it's the last thing you need.
1. One

A/N- this is a small break story that I suddenly got the idea for out of state in Missouri, the other chapters of other stories are coming and Mackenny Moon will be posted as soon as it is typed up as with the others- but as I always say, I have the attention span of a gnat and had this raging through my brain, I hope you enjoy! Please R&R!

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One

She watched as the young boy flew down the cobbled path at breakneck speed, a mob of ravenous villagers behind him, torches raised high in their hands.

She'd seen this madness before, seen what fear could do to otherwise decent human beings, she knew that an angry, fearful mob could rip even the most gigantic of men apart- the young boy now being chased, stood no chance against them.

They forced him back against a wall, cursing the frightened child into submission; one man, a brute with a patch over his left eye and massive pecs covered in scars, prodded the tiny thing with the sharp end of a stick, the boy let out a terrified yowl and folded himself into a ball, shaking out of hurt and fear.

Another man from the group took a step forward and began to forcefully kick the boy in the ribs- a jolt of pained remembrance shattered through her heart and she took one small step from her hiding place in the shadows, her fists gripped tightly at her sides, ready to stop the wounding and beating of the frightened kid. A third man approached the front of the group and they stood down for him- a chain whip grasped loosely in his hand, she took action.

"Enough," her voice was a harsh whisper, barely audible to human ears, but the mob heard her nonetheless. Dropping their weapons in confusion- the men turned to stare at her, the apparent leader began to laugh:

"This creature deserves this!" he snarled.

"That 'creature' is nothing but a little boy." her voice remained calm and even, only a slight tremor revealed her rage. The man shook his head and turning around, advanced on the huddled shape once more. "I said that was enough," her voice was lower now, more lethal. The man stopped advancing and turned to squint into the recesses of the shadows, to really get a look at her.

"Who're you?" he asked gruffly- an edge of fear to his lazy drawl.

Slowly she left the last traces of shadow, allowing her face to be touched by the starlit sky. The mob's breathing stopped in total for a few short seconds and she let a cold smile drop over her lush, gray lips. "I could be your best friend," she started darkly, "or your worst nightmare, the choice is yours- but unless you want the latter of the two choices, I suggest you leave him alone." there was no trace of lie in her soft-as-silk voice, only the faint whisper of something darker, something deadly.

The leader took the chain whip in both hands and jerked it tight, a menacing snarl etched on his gruesome features, "And I'm sure you'll stop me, right?"

The challenge in his voice was unmistakable and he knew it.

Her tricolor eyes filled with fear, but only for a second, then that fear was replaced by a flash of something unreadable, something not so human. "I'll do more than stop you," she growled sharply, "now leave him alone, you've frightened him, let that be enough." the finality in her voice told the men that they were through, and if they tried anything- she would be upon them in a second.

They turned away grudgingly and headed back the way they had come.

The boy was still huddled in a small ball and was now shaking violently, she approached with a deep sadness in her heart and her eyes and placed a steadying hand on his shoulder, "You're alright now," she cooed softly, "they're gone, no one will hurt you, I won't let them."

Small brown eyes met hers and she felt another spasm of remorse ricochet through her- he was a lycanthrope, another peoples deeply feared, feared to the point of hating. The boy sniffled and wiped a scrawny arm across his nose, leaving dirt and blood in it's wake.

He couldn't have been older than six, maybe seven, she voiced the question nagging at the back of her mind, "Where are your parents?" he shrugged and avoided her gaze, "Are they hurt? You can tell me, I want to help you." he shook his head and his deep brown eyes filled his tears, "If they're hurt, I need to know so I can help them." her voice was soft but urgent.

The kid opened his mouth and began to talk, his voice small and full of a terrible upset, "I don't know if they're hurt…I…I ran." without thinking she pulled the small boy into her arms, "It's OK," she told him softly, "can you bring me to them? Do you think you could do that?"

He nodded, "Ok.…But why? Why would you want to help us, we're monsters."

A flash of red crossed her vision and she held the boy by the shoulders away from her, her voice full of surfacing anger, "You're not a monster, those men are the monsters, anyone that would use force to willingly hurt another living being is a monster. Not you, not anyone like you- people should be labeled monsters by the choices they make, by who they try to be, by what they do- not what they were born as or what happened to them; those things don't make us monsters."

The child took her hand as he stood and pulled her to her feet as he lead her down the way the men had chased him from. A few paces down the cobbled road, they came to a burnt hull, the remains of a small farmhouse. By the look of horror on her young comrades face, this was his home- or had been.

I'm sorry," she told him gently, "sometimes things like this just happen and there's nothing we can do to turn them back…I know." her last words caught his attention and he raised questioning brown eyes to her deep gray pools. Had she sounded bitter? If she had she hadn't meant to- her past was a secret to many, but maybe she could confide in this urchin.

"What's your name?" she asked him, trying to fill the pained silence with questions of her own.

"Darius," he said lightly, "Darius McKenna." before she could ask another question he interrupted her with one of his own, "Who are you? Why are you all by yourself in the dark?"

A strained smile graced her face and she sighed heavily, did she remember her name? It had been so long since she'd used it last, since anyone had said it. After a few minutes of heavy calm, her dry lips parted and a name exited: "Miriam," a soft pause followed, "My name is Miriam Gentry." she stared off into the distance and missed Darius's next question, "What?" she asked quickly.

"Why are you alone?

"I'm a lot like you," she answered sadly, "My family was taken away from me, my mother, father, sisters and brothers, everyone I thought I loved, everyone like me, all of them were lost to me, lost to the world."

"What happened?" the probing question in his eyes opened up a wound inside her she had thought she'd locked up a long time ago and she began confessing to him everything that he seemed to want to know.

"When I was your age, maybe younger, a group of angry men came to our home, blaming my father for the bad harvest that year, my father tried to reason with them, he told them that it had been dry that year, even his crops had been dry, most of his animals had died- but they wouldn't listen, they had set their minds to the fact that because of what my father was- because of what my entire family was, we had caused the drought.

"I remember the first flash of fire as a torch was tossed upon our roof, everyone began to panic, tried to exit the house at once, but they had us surrounded and pushed us back in, back into the flames, back into our deaths." she paused and tried to block the screams of pain from memory, tried to forget everything that had made her who she was. Darius placed a small hand over hers and gave her a little smile.

"How'd you get away? You're not dead are you?"

The laugh that escaped her lips was a bit more harsh than originally intended, but Darius didn't flinch, "I ran and I hid."

"But you're not hiding anymore, you came to help me."

"No, I'm still hiding, I've never stopped hiding, I've never stopped running, I can't because there's always a chance that someone will be watching, someone will be waiting. I can't when I know for certain that I'm the last of my like left, I can't when the world is so full of hate, of fear for anyone different."

He touched her face and turned it to his, his young eyes full of determination, "I'm not going to hide, I'm not going to let them do that to me, be brave enough to fight them, I can't do it alone."

"I can't face them, not as I am, only in shadow, only in a mask, only when I know that they can't see me as me…"

"You're going to face them, you're going to come with me and you're going to take care of me, you're the only family I have, and I'm the only person in your life living. Face them. Please, I don't wanna stay in the shadows, do you?"

She smiled slowly and her voice came out in a strangled croak, "No…no I don't want to stay in the shadows anymore, I want to touch the light." and she knew it was truth. She had someone to face the monsters of the world with now, she had someone more stubborn than her to watch out for now, she was through running, she was going to settle down with Darius and raise him, he was so young and at the same time older than her, he would be her son, and she would have the family lost to her all those years ago.

"What?" she had missed another of Darius's questions.

"What are you? You're different than me and you aren't like those men, what are you?"

"I am trow, I am the last of them, there aren't anymore, I've looked,"

"Trow…" he whispered softly, running his hand down her face, she knew that he was feeling the metal-like strength of her light gray skin, he moved his hand and ran it down the sheer silk of her white silver hair, he cocked his head to the side and trailed a finger lightly over her dark gray lips. "You're all sorts of gray, how'd you get like that?"

"Legend says that we couldn't stand the sight of our sunlit cousins and fought terribly with them, they won the battle and in our disgrace, we went underground, away from the sun for we had lost her favor. Our skin grew dark without the sun's light, our hair grew pale, our eyes couldn't decide on a single pigment and made rings and we reveled in our new home…or that's what legend says. I know a few things though, I know that my blood is as red on gray as it is on white and I know that I feel pain and loss like anything else, and I know that I hold a vengeance that will never subside."

Darius wrapped his scrawny arms around her neck and nuzzled his face into the curve of her shoulder, "I think you're pretty and I'm glad you're my new mom." she patted his back and as she walked with him in her arms, his breathing grew heavy and she knew that he was asleep.

Now she couldn't hide anymore, at twenty-four she would have to reappear into a world that thought all trow were dead, boy would they have to rewrite the history books.

* * *

Four years later, The Poison Apple, Knockturn Alley, London.

Severus Snape sat at a small table in the darkest corner of the dingy bar pointedly called The Poison Apple, waiting for the newest Defense Against the Dark Arts hopeful whom was already a full hour late. He would, of course, tell Albus about this, and if this behavior continued, hopefully the recruit would not last the year.

He looked over the application and shook his head in annoyance. Where was he? It couldn't possibly take him that long to get from point A to point B. he glanced down the application once more to find the name he was supposed to use.

M. Gentry. Gentry was a fairly common last name, he knew hundreds of M. Gentry's, shaking his head in disgust, he ordered a drink and his anger began to bubble over as the time drew on without M. Gentry's appearance.

Halfway through his second glass of Firewhiskey, a slender shape slipped easily from the shadows and into the seat across from his. A slender figure with long black hair and a narrow waist. The Firewhiskey already in his mouth, exited with a loud hiss of surprise, a pair of tricolor eyes gazed calmly at him from the shadows of the wall. Strange eyes, three rings of color encased in the same order in each eye. A ring of light gray made the outer ring of both eyes, followed by a loop of jade green, ending with a slivered loop of honeyed gold, the pupils were narrow and cat-like, watching him with a raw intensity that startled him.

"Gentry?" he asked sullenly, he was answered with a vague nod, "You're late." the chuckle that emitted from the shadowed figure across from him wasn't male, it was very feminine and a little unnerving.

"I'm not late, I was never told a specific time and the place I arrived at apparently was not here, so not only am I not late, but I was misinformed about our original place of origin."

Her voice was pleasing, low and smooth and her laugh was soft and subtle, nothing about her was flaky or forced, she was simply…a shadow. "I was asked by Professor Dumbledore to meet you, to see if you fit all that is expected of a Hogwarts teacher." he saw a smile touch her dark lips through the shadows and she responded with a nod of her head. "Oh, believe me, I have all the expected requirements and a few more, I am not a child fresh from school, I am a grown woman, nearly thirty and I have…experienced more than anyone should have to."

He heard the note of pain in her voice, but she offered no more information than that so he didn't ask. "Have you taught before, Mrs. Gentry?"

"Miss Gentry, I'm not married."

He glanced pointedly at the applicant, "But you say in here that you have a son?" he felt a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips; so Professor Gentry did have a secret- a child out of wedlock, he could use that against her, and it was good to know for future reference.

"Yes," she responded drolly, her eyes flashing with an evil light, "I have a son, but I don't see how that is any concern of yours."

"Miss Gentry-"

"Miriam."

"Miriam, as a member of the faculty you have joined, I just want to be sure that no one of loose morals finds a way in, not that I'm saying you have loose morals." he smiled smugly at her from across the table. He had meant to insult her, he hoped that if he insulted her enough she would leave and that he would be offered the position, it hadn't worked that way so far.

"Professor-" she paused, "What is your name? You know a lot about me, and I don't even know your name."

"I am Severus Snape, Potions Master." her eyes flashed with a new light and she offered him her hand, he didn't take it and after several minutes she took it away.

"Potions Master," her voice was soft, eerily so, "that is not a title given to many," she paused for a few seconds and then looked him squarely in the eyes, a shiver ran down his spine as her jeweled orbs bored into his, "you must be very skilled, can I say I am in awe of you, Professor? Or would that be too bold?"

In spite of the fact that he had resolved to dislike every Defense Professor, he felt a softening towards this Professor, apparently flattery did in fact get you everywhere. He offered her his hand this time and she took it gingerly, the warmth of her hand engulfed his and he gave it a slight squeeze of welcome, then he froze, still holding onto her hand, he muttered something under his breath and the air around Miriam Gentry rippled like a pond.

Glamour.

She thought she had something to hide, he had felt the difference, the wrongness as soon as he touched her hand. He wouldn't let on that he knew her secret, he'd wait a while longer- sometimes the truth was more frightening than the glamour and if she felt she needed to hide, he'd left her- for now.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Professor Gentry."

"Thank you, Professor Snape, I look forward to seeing all of the Hogwarts personnel within a fortnight, I have other things to carryout before then."

She turned to go but he called her back with a soft: "Miriam, your son, how old is he?"

He swore a sad smile graced her lips but it passed quickly, "Eleven, he turned eleven a month ago, now if you'll excuse me, Severus, I must return home to him, I didn't expect this to take so long and we have plans- school shopping." she gave him another goodbye and then turned gracefully on her heels and left the bar.

She had covered herself in glamour, she was hiding something and he would find out what exactly that something was, and he couldn't be certain, but whenever her son was mentioned a saddened glaze passed over her eyes and touched her lips. Could it be that she had meant to marry her son's father and he had been met with some untimely demise, it wasn't unlikely- especially now. Or maybe she had killed someone and was running from the law- anything was possible, and he doubted she had killed someone, she wasn't the type, she was far too pretty, soft tan skin with undertones of color he couldn't name, long black hair that fell just past her waist, her magnificent eyes thickly fringed with black lashes, she was tall too, not too tall for a woman, but tall considering that she had looked vaguely like some muggle supermodel.

Yes she was pretty, but she was intelligent too, and Severus didn't see a relationship in his future, friendship was a definite possibility, but he didn't want a lover- it was too dangerous- but he could handle a friend, he needed more of those

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Hogwarts Express two weeks later.

Miriam hadn't expected her business to take so long, but she had taken a while longer finding some information out than she should have and now she would ride the train like a student, Darius had already bounded onboard and had settled down in a compartment with three other children, by the looks of them, first years.

Miriam made her way down the narrow hall until she came to an empty compartment and then settled herself in to a corner. Leaning her back, she waited for the ride to start, she didn't like trains, she didn't like trains at all.

The compartment's door opened again and three adolescents entered, two were laughing, one was not. The one that wasn't laughing was more adult then adolescent, his bright eyes were sad and there were circles under them stating that he hadn't had a good nights sleep in a while. The laughing pair stopped when they spotted her and the girl, a pretty thing with tawny golden curls and mahogany eyes smiled brightly.

"Sorry, we didn't think anyone was in here, can we sit with you, everywhere else is full."

Miriam gave a slight nod of her head, swallowed and closed her eyes again, digging her fingers into the seat as the train began to move. There were a few harsh whispers amongst the two who had been laughing and Miriam's eyes shot open again when someone placed a hand on her shoulder. Emerald green eyes stared at her with genuine concern, it was the non-laughing black-haired man-youth, "Are you all right?" he asked her, Miriam was about to say she was fine when the train gave a sudden jerk. Miriam swallowed a rising squeal and closed her eyes again.

The hand on her shoulder tightened and she opened her eyes again, she gave him a shaky smile and said remotely, "I don't like trains."

Green eyes smiled at her and removed his hand from her shoulder, a moment later a chocolate frog was placed in front of her. "Eat this, you'll feel better." his voice was soft and husky, just the right amount of casual undertone to hide his fatigue, but Miriam could see it, she could feel it.

She took the chocolate without hesitation, the boy knew his remedies, she smiled her thanks and gave a small sigh, her death grip on the seat lessened and she began to breathe normally.

"What's your name?" the question came from tawny curls.

She responded breathily as her nerves began to rise again, "Miriam."

Tawny curls smiled and responded passionately, "My name is Hermoine, this is Ron," she motioned to the redheaded youth at her left, he blushed scarlet at Miriam's glance and she chuckled to herself, maybe she'd over done the glamour: _"Note to self," _she thought wryly,_ "tone down the beauty, you don't need to overwhelm teen boys with wet dreams."_ Miriam followed Hermoine's eyes and saw Green eyes' stony visage. Hermoine went to say something to him but he turned to Miriam with a forced smile on his face, "Harry, my name is Harry." Miriam gave him a weak smile and then put her head against the window, the cool glass easing her once again panicking heart.

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The three (two really) started chatting as soon as they realized that Miriam was not a threat, Miriam was glad for the noise it distracted her from the movement of the train's wheels, a question flew at her and she forced herself to raise her head:

"Yes?"

"What year are you?"

"I'm new…"

"Are you a transfer student?"

"No. I-" the cabin door slid open and within the doorway a chiseled statuette of marble and ice was framed. Long silvery blond hair fell to his shoulders, pulled back to hang elegantly down his back. Icy silver eyes with just a shot of blue glared into the cabin, followed by an elegantly arched nose that would be the envy of any marble silhouette, his lips were perfectly arched into a smug smirk, when he spoke his voice was a bored drawl.

"Another year and you're still alive, Potter. I thought for sure by now that something would have finished you off."

"Step in here and say that, Malfoy, I dare you!" Ron had leapt up from his seat, his fists in a fighting position, Hermoine put a steadying hand on his arm and pulled him back, the statuette, now know by the name of Malfoy spotted Miriam and his smirk deepened.

"Who's this? Another mudblood?"

This time all three students jumped up in anger towards Malfoy, Miriam decided to take matters into her hands this time, train or no- she had to stop this before someone go hurt, namely Malfoy.

"Sit down all of you." her voice had dropped an octave and she stood, approaching Malfoy with a lethal charm, "I know people like you, you think that world revolves around you, that the sun rises and sets only for you, you insult people to make yourself feel bigger, does it work? Do you really feel better about yourself after the fact, I know I wouldn't, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night."

He glared smarmily at her and responded as she knew he would, "I sleep just fine at night, and I don't need you telling me who I am, I know who I am."

"Good," her voice was now nothing but a whisper and Malfoy had to strain his ears to hear her, "if you know who you are then you know you're becoming a monster, you know that you're on a your way to paving a road of destruction. I'm glad you know that, it makes my job of informing people so much easier if they know where they're headed already."

"Who do you think you are?" he growled at her and Miriam had to fight the urge to pull her wand on him, one did not pull a wand on ones students- even if one wanted to with every fiber of her being.

She frowned faintly and sighing decided that it was time to bring about the truth, "My name is Miriam Gentry, I'm your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, now I suggest you leave here before a detention is given and house points are taken away, ta." she slid the compartment door shut and put her back against it sighing in aggravation, opening her eyes she met three pairs of very confused eyeballs.

"Do I have something on my face?" she asked lightly trying to lighten the now tense mood.

"You're our new professor…" the girl Hermoine's eyes had lost a small spark and now all three were staring at her waiting for her to answer.

"Yes. I am your new professor, apparently I missed my ride to the school and then proceeded to take the train," she looked at Harry and gave him a soft smile, "I really do hate trains, I have since I was very small, that wasn't a lie, actually, I haven't lied at all so why are you all glaring?"

They shared a secret look and then Ron blurted out something that brought a smile to Miriam's face, "Are you a werewolf? Our professor in third year was and he rode the train."

"No, I'm no werewolf, my son, however, is another matter entirely, but you can ask him, it's not my place to give away his secrets."

"Earlier you said you were new when I asked, why didn't you just say 'I'm the new professor'?"

"I wasn't given a chance, you caught me off guard with the question, I was trying to focus on something that wasn't spinning beneath my feet and then Mr. Malfoy decided to join us, I was getting to an answer," she did the time honored Boy Scout salute, "Scout's honor."

"You really don't like trains?" Ron asked.

"Yes, I really don't like trains, actually I don't like trains, flying or ships- I can do cars and I'm fine with port keys and Floo, but none of the others, I can't take those."

"How can't you like flying?" Ron again asking a question Miriam wished had stayed in the dark, "I like my feet planted firmly on the ground, there are those that were meant to have wings and those that simply weren't, I wasn't."

Hermoine smiled, "Harry's Gryffindor Seeker, he's brilliant."

Miriam shook her head, "Lovely," turning to him she smiled wistfully, "So you have wings and learned to use them, good for you."

"I could teach you," he said softly, for Miriam's ears only, "I could teach you to fly." his green eyes were so intensely intent on her face that this time Miriam blushed. He wasn't just talking about flying, there was a whole softer edge of innuendoes that Miriam had picked out right away, the other two were oblivious to it and Miriam was grateful.

"That would be lovely, except as I said, I like my feet planted firmly on the ground, although if you do end up convincing me to get on a broom, I could award you extra credit, though I can't promise anything." the three friends shared a grin and Miriam headed to her corner- the train gave a sudden jolt and Miriam went flying, she landed on something solid, something human.

The something wrapped it's arms around her waist and she exhaled sharply, she pushed herself away and glared back into the intense emerald eyes of Harry Potter.

Harry Potter.

Of course! The bells in her head were going off now and she wondered how on earth she hadn't recognized him immediately. He was playing a dangerous game, he had to know that, but then everything in his life usually ended up dangerous, wanted or not. The train had arrived at the school and students were filing off like happy little drones. She spotted Darius's curly black mane in a crowd of first years and shouted to him, he heard her and headed her direction.

"You have everything?" she asked suspiciously, "Not forgetting anything today?"

He smiled cheekily, "Not today, maybe tomorrow," he glanced towards the boats that the first years had headed too and back to her, his big brown orbs pleading.

"Alright, go, I hear you only ride the boats once." he took off running and she smiled, he had grown up alright so far, maybe her maternal instincts weren't dead. She turned to Harry and the others and Harry motioned towards a throng of carriages being pulled by…. Thestrals. The cursed horses of the dead. Carnivores, scavengers- they were many things and Miriam wasn't going near them, they would sense out what she was and all would be lost, she was done hiding but the world wasn't ready for a trow.

"Come on." Hermoine took her hand and pulled her towards the carriages, she shut her eyes and whispered several trow prayers under her breath. Hermoine and Ron took one carriage and she and Harry another, once inside, away from the cursed horses' sight, she let out a breath of air, trembling in excess, waiting for one of the beasts to let out a scream of protest and expose her.

Harry was eyeing her carefully, his face a mask of emotionless calm, "You can see them, can't you?"

"Yes…" she replied, trying to maintain a calm, "I see them."

"Who did you lose?" he didn't ask rudely, he asked with a tone made for conversation- Miriam answered him.

"Everyone," a ripping emitted from within her and it tore her heart, she shook her head to clear the raging fear, "I lost everyone I knew, everyone I loved so very long ago, seeing them just reminds me that you can't go back again and it…bothers me."

"I'm sorry, Professor Gentry, I-"

"Please, call me Miriam while we're out of class, Professor Gentry makes me feel so old." he grinned devilishly at her the shadows making him looks thoroughly sinful, "Miriam, I'm sorry."

"It's OK, Harry, your loss has been just as great." she saw the look of misery flash through his eyes and Miriam immediately regretted her words, "Harry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, it slipped out."

He held up a hand and gave her a lopsided smile, "It's OK, Miriam, I'm used to that."

"But you shouldn't have to be used to that Harry…" smiling at her, he leant in and put his mouth to hers, Miriam began to yield to his soft lips when the carriage stopped and voices outside the door caused Miriam to wretch herself away, the door opened and Harry left to join his two friends, stopping briefly to see if Miriam was coming, she gave him a wave of her hand and followed behind them.

What had she been doing? Kissing a man younger than her by eleven years- hell he was barely a man- a boy. She had been kissing a boy and she had liked it. Yes it had been a lifetime since she'd allowed herself the comfort of another body…actually she'd never allowed herself the comfort of another body, she'd shied away from all the world, maybe that hadn't been such a smart idea, maybe she needed to stay away from Harry Potter, her feelings towards him were already starting to creep towards the not so teacher-like.

She entered the Great Hall as the sorting ceremony ended, she looked for Darius and found him beaming at the Gryffindor table, seated next to Harry, she had felt Harry's eyes on as soon as she'd entered the hall, she made her way up the center isle and took her seat next to Professor Snape, she gave him a dark smile, mouthing: "Got a little lost." he nodded in understanding and turned his face back to the students.

Professor Dumbledore made his usual announcements and then introduced Miriam to the students, a murmur of question rose up amongst them and Miriam knew that most had seen her on the train and thought her a student- she did look like a seventh year, but she couldn't help that, she'd stopped aging at seventeen- her prime age, she wouldn't age again until she was three hundred and even then she'd age only a year or two.

After the feast and few conversations with the teachers she'd be working with, Miriam left the hall and made her way hastily to her rooms- she didn't want to run into Harry just yet, she didn't want to see him until class the next day, because if she saw him no she wouldn't be able to refuse his advances and the thought of losing her control didn't scare her, it terrified her. She opened the door to her room and closing it behind her, let a wave of black shadow sweep over her, she'd confront her demons another day- now was time for sleep.

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A/N- please read and review, trow is an actual race of things, some people say drow, others say dark elves, but I didn't invent them D&D and all fantasy things did- and fairytales too I guess did, if you haven't guessed this is a Harry/Miriam fic, I figured I'd do one with an older woman with a younger guy since most are with like Ginny or Hermoine with an older man- I reversed it! Anyways, read and review, your thoughts give me much joy and the more reviews I get the sooner I post my next chapter for this, my other stories chapters cometh! 


	2. Two

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**DISCLAIMER: **just so we know…I own nothing of J. K Rowling's and the only things belonging to me are my monsters like Miriam and Darius, and this plot, thought we'd review that for everyone.

A/N-So is this story liked so far? It is OK? This is a Harry/Miriam fic, it could lead into a Miriam/Severus fic, but I'm not telling- you must find out on your own as the story progresses…or you can guess. I'm grateful for the reviews, I thank you so much and ask you to please continue. I'm making this a soap opera without trying, sorry…. Ok maybe I did try a little, enjoy!

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Two****

7th year Gryffindor boy's dormitory, twelve-fifteen in the morning.

Harry couldn't sleep; he kept seeing Miriam falling into his kiss, felt her lips yielding to his as he kissed her with soft force, how he wanted to feel her flesh beneath his without the barriers of clothing.

What was happening to him? What had he been doing kissing a full grown woman? A teacher! Had he lost his mind completely? He could get her fired! He could destroy everything between them before there was anything truly there to lose. But he had realized something during that kiss, he couldn't leave her alone, wouldn't leave her alone. He wanted more of her, he wanted to taste her, to feel her, to know her indefinitely- was he in lust or in love?

He stretched languidly and then tossed himself around, trying to get comfortable and dream of something else- someone else besides his new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. What she had said to Malfoy had been priceless, the look on his face after she had finished her seductive speech had left Harry in awe of her- but did he love her or lust her? If it was lust it was going to be a very long year and if it was love…how was he going to woo her…she was his professor, and there were certain laws against that.

Closing his eyes he saw Miriam Gentry in a dreamlike haze of glory. Her long black hair flowing freely to her waist in loose ringlets, her willowy limbs open and welcoming, her sultry eyes and lips beckoning. In his want he could almost taste the dewy musk of her shadowy skin, could nearly feel the pressure of her luscious lips pressed gently against his, coaxing slowly.

He flipped around in a restless fatigue a few more times before finally falling into a black sleep filled with dreams that in the morning he wouldn't quite remember.

Miriam's chamber, two-thirty in the morning.

A terror filled scream shattered the silent night and Miriam opened her eyes in panic to find herself sprawled across the floor, a burgundy sheet wrapped around her legs, trapping her to the bed; her heart was pounding in silent distress and her throat was painfully dry.

She had screamed- that was obvious, but why she had screamed was slowly fading from her mind. She pulled herself off of the floor and made her way to the door her body just beginning to waken from it's state of sleep- she would go out and clear her head, she needed to clear her head, but she wasn't sure why.

She made it down the corridor and slipped silently out a side door into the school gardens- outside she took a deep breath and let herself soak up the stars. How she missed the night, the permanent shadows she had lived in for so long were now no more than a distant dream. A raindrop fell from the dark sky creating a wet dot on Miriam's deep gray cloak. A scuffling behind her caused her to duck down in alarm, she had no glamour at the moment, it had waned away in sleep and she couldn't take the chance of being seen.

Suddenly coming outside seemed foolish, she never went anywhere without glamour, she never let anyone but Darius see her face. The scuffling turned into a silent whisper as the footsteps began to echo away from Miriam's hiding place. Miriam let out a gust of relief and slipped quietly back into the building, Filch. It had to have been Filch, no one else would wander around in the middle of the night…well there was her, but she had an excuse…maybe.

Back inside the building she crept easily back to her room and was almost to the door when a low "Tsk, tsk, tsk," began from just a few paces away. "Show yourself." Miriam ordered, if there was one thing that she detested beyond anything (maybe more than trains) was being followed, she would not be followed in the shadows- those were her safe haven, no one else's.

"I said show yourself." she growled darkly, her eyes locked on a space in front of her, she'd use magic if it didn't risk revelation to do so, she needed no wand- but she couldn't risk that- yet. "Are you dumb or def, I said show yourself now." a shape slipped soundly from the shadows and the light slivering through the beveled window revealed a shock of long silvery-blond hair, "Mr. Malfoy, I do not like being followed." her voice was low, frighteningly so.

He smirked at her and Miriam fought a great urge to wipe that smile from his face, she couldn't risk it, she shouldn't risk it, but she wanted too. "Professor, I was just curious, why are you sulking in the dark when all the others sleep?" Miriam's hands clenched and she took a step backwards, cloaking herself in the cool night, "I could ask you the same question, Mr. Malfoy, and unlike you, I can demote house points for a student being out of bed and waltzing the halls- now why don't you get back to bed before you get more than you bargained for."

She saw his face go from smirk to sinister, "Professor, as Head Boy I have a right to wander the halls looking for perpetrators, you can't take house points for that."

"You're right, I can't, but I can give you a detention for following me and watching me from the shadows, I do believe that most people would consider that stalking." the look on his face dimmed slightly and he grumbled a 'damn' then slithered away to go find someone else to pester- Miriam hoped that if it was a student he'd be decently human, he didn't have an excuse for acting any other way, Miriam did, she wasn't human.

Once again she stood before her door and uttered softly: "Twilight Kisses." she had chosen the password on account that she herself was part of the twilight, and it sounded pretty rolling off her tongue. She passed through the door and it shut gracefully behind her- this time when she closed her eyes, she didn't dream.

* * *

First class of the day, eight 'o'clock in the morning, 7th year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs

She couldn't believe she had overslept, no meal for her, just jerky movements as hurriedly pulled on her blue-gray robes and a slight hum as she glamoured herself up. She dashed through the connecting hallway to her classroom and set things up with just a taste of trow magic, she slipped her wand into her pocket and felt the solid smoothness of it. It was mahogany and yew, 10 ½ inches, containing one phoenix feather, a griffin scale, a hair from a yuan-ti and a drop of trow blood. Mr. Ollivander had been most surprised when that particular wand had chosen her (Miriam hadn't been at all) he had remarked with a vague, "How very odd…" before accepting her money and going off to help another, a student, a first year.

Now, Miriam didn't need a wand, but it did help with the façade, it finalized her image as 'witch', and it might come in handy on the days where she couldn't use her magic without risk. There were a few such moments like that, where magic flowed freely through the world and wards were strong enough to detect her. All Hallows Eve, Yule, Beltane, Midsummer. Those were the moments when her face was at highest risk of being seen- she couldn't fight the old power, she wasn't old enough yet, at two hundred she might be able to fight the repose and use her glamour during one of those such nights, but by then she hoped to no longer be living a lie.

She sat back in her tall black chair and waited for the room to fill, she knew what she was doing, but for their sake she'd do it the human way.

The door opened and the first three students rushed in, smiles on their faces, "Hey Miriam!" she closed her eyes with a smile on her lips and then shushed them: "Professor Gentry, Miriam out of class, _out_ of class." they grinned impishly and scuttled to a row of desks in the front, the rest of the class filed in and took seats in a similar fashion, they were talking amongst themselves after the bell rang and Miriam cleared her throat a few times to no avail. This wouldn't do if she was going to win their respect, she had Harry, Hermoine, and Ron's attention, but that simply wouldn't do. She stuck two fingers between her lips and blew.

The shrill screech brought the chatter to a standstill and Miriam smiled sweetly at them, "Class," she began, "I would like to welcome you to your seventh year at Hogwarts, I know you've already received welcome, but I welcome you to your final year of Defense Against the Dark Arts," she beamed brightly, went over the rules and guidelines (as it was required she do so) then once finished pulled down an overhead with a several pictures on it, the pictures were of several unlabeled, highly magical creatures with certain potentials towards the human (tendencies that could possibly be dangerous)- trow was one such creature on the list, there were several others and she wanted to see what they knew.

"As you can see, this is a list of- well pictures of creatures noted as dangerous because of their human abilities, I want you to write down what each picture is of, what their tendencies are and ways to protect yourself against them- they are after all, dark creatures and this is supposedly a defense class…alright, begin, this is not timed you have till the end of the class to edit your answers and figure things out, you may begin now."

There was a quiet scuffling of parchment and then the indistinct scratching of quills as they slid across in hurried excitement, Miriam really hadn't wanted to do the name game the first day, but she had be too rushed for anything else, damn sleep.

* * *

After supper, grading papers in the DADA classroom

Miriam scanned over the answers of the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw students from grades fourth to seventh and was highly impressed, Hermoine's answers were impeccable: _"5) Yuan-ti, a snake demon that can make itself look more human to hide amongst it's prey, extremely intelligent and lethal, over the years many cults linked to the Yuan-ti have surfaced so it is well know that the Yuan-ti hold powers of influence and manipulation." _superb, her answers were exactly what Miriam had been looking for, the Slytherin answers, however, were anything but, like Malfoy's interesting answer of: _"1) Well obviously it's some sort of water creature- how stupid do you think we are? But if you really want the answer, it's a Siren, a beautiful woman that lures sailors into the sea with a song and then drowns them in the heat of passion, you really thought you'd stump us with this one?"_

Actually, although he was right about what a Siren did, Malfoy was wrong, number one was a Dryad, it wasn't even a water creature, it was a woodland sprite that kept to a tree and delivered magical properties to the tree and the reason it was considered dark was that in a fit of fear the Dryad could run and leave behind a blast of magic so potent as to render a man dumb or have a spot of Blind Love placed upon him so that no matter the creature or the crime the object of affections, he will follow it until it is too late or until arrested…or worse.

Most of the Slytherin answers rounded on the same line so they had done it purposely, the year had barely started and they were telling her she was an unworthy teacher- stupid little blighters.

She was finishing on the last paper when the door opened and Harry walked cautiously in, "Do you need something, Harry. I'm almost done here and then I'll be happy to help you anyway I can." he gave her a dark smile and then settled down on top of a desk, his eyes never leaving her. Miriam began back at her work and found she couldn't with Harry's eyes still locked on her form, but now they weren't just locked, she could feel them undressing her with careful precision. She set aside the quill and fighting every yielding bone in her body asked tersely: "Is there something you needed, Harry? Because if you don't need it now I can get it too you later."

He said nothing, but he didn't need to, his eyes spoke for him, hot and smoldering, Miriam felt her blood boil- she wanted this to stop, he was her student and he would remain such, no matter what her lustful views on the topic were. At last her spoke, his voice bordering on erotically sensual, "I need you, Miriam." Miriam took a step back at his bold answer and felt a bubble burst inside her, a bubble of anger and want.

"Harry, I am your professor, not another student where it would be acceptable to have such a crush, but your teacher, a full grown woman and I must tell you know that you play with fire, a fire that once unleashed cannot and will not be controlled." her voice hurdled towards seething, but she no longer cared, he needed to know where she stood on the topic of the relationship he had hinted at for them, he needed to know that she was his teacher, nothing more.

His voice was incredibly husky as he approached her, cornering her, seducing her; "I like this fire, Professor, I want this."

"You don't know what you ask," was that truly her voice? That guttural growl coming from her throat…she half expected her head to go round 180 degrees…which it didn't, thankfully.

He brought a hand up to caress her face and ran two fingers along her lips, Miriam shivered, she couldn't deny her initial reaction to him, that was too obvious, she had kissed him back, but he was so young…so sweetly young, but his innocence had been killed, squelched like the last flame of a candle, and as he leant into her, Miriam felt her arms trail up his biceps to wind themselves around his neck, and then she was kissing him, eating at his mouth like she was starved.

Harry moaned into the kiss and that itself sent Miriam spiraling over the edge of her control, any reason she had had was sent to it's death out a mental window as she began to frantically rip at Harry's clothing. Harry was doing much the same, he was clawing at her belt, ripping it from the belt loops of her black jeans like something wild and frenzied; shoving her pants down over the slight curve of her waist he picked her up, Miriam wrapped her legs around his waist as he set her atop her desk.

Oh God! Was she really doing this? It had gone too far to pull back now and she was to involved to think straight- Harry had ripped his boxers and her panties away in one swift zip; he stuck a finger inside her and she cried out- she was so incredibly wet that even Harry's inspection sent waves of pleasure through her body. With another swift move, he was inside her and Miriam cried out in anguished ecstasy. Harry paused for a second to hold her eyes and Miriam knew what he was questioning, she was a virgin and she had a son, that wasn't possible even in fairytale standards.

Miriam found herself then and began to push away from him, tried to draw herself into shadow, she had almost lost her control, she had almost lost her glamour. A few seconds more and her secret would have been know, Harry would have kept it, yes, but she didn't want that sort of tie to him, and yet she knew that because he had been her first, she was tied to him in exactly that way…_what had she been doing?_

"Harry-" she began softly, "this stops here, what happened was a mistake on my part, I'm sorry."The flash of anger in his eyes was more than Miriam meant to do and she put her hand on his shoulder, "Harry, you know it's truth, if we become lovers and are caught…" she shut her eyes over the thought, "please, Harry, let it stop here."

"This isn't some game to me," he stated gruffly, pain in his eyes, "I thought about you all last night, you've been in my thoughts all day, you never seem to leave my mind- I think I fell in love with you that first second on the train and now you say that it stops here, well I won't let it."

"Harry, you must see how wrong this is? I'm old enough old enough to be your mother, and you…Harry this has to end here, you may say you want to bring it further, but I tell you it stops here." there was such an urging in her voice that Harry stepped away and met her eyes with fiery determination, "Alright, Miriam, this night it stops here, but the next time…we finish what we start." with that he turned his back to her, pulled on his clothing, and left the classroom, Miriam sank to her desk in tatters, gathering the ruins of her clothing she hurried to her rooms and locked all possible doorways behind her, she was determined more than ever to evade Harry's interest, but now that he'd had her, now that they'd been one…she wasn't sure she wanted to.

Damn it all to hell.

Changing her clothes she left her room in search of a man she'd vowed to call her friend- surely he'd sit and talk with her, she wouldn't mention this, and if it came up…she'd swear him to silence, and hopefully Harry's intent would stop…but as Miriam thought this to herself, another thought surfaced, she wasn't sure she wanted it to stop.

A/N- next chapter she talks with Snape and some things might come to the surface and he might suspect what she is…chapter four will be really good, I promise, chapter three is a friendship building, so sorry if it gets a little slow. R&R! thank you!


	3. Three

A/N- Ok, so this took slightly longer than originally planned…but it's here now, and I'm here and we're all here! I think I may have been drugged. I swear The Great Dragon has had it out for me ever since I paid in check form and they have been slowly begrudging me ever since. But Chinese food….ah…the one reason I love Minneapolis, Chinese delivery, apparently this happens in most cities and such, but I'm from small-time suburbia and Chinese delivery is the best invention ever, besides the typewriter or the laptop. Please read and review (Dreaconin, thank you for badgering me, continue to do so and I may actually continue to work on this) but hey, yeah, thanks to those that have reviewed, and I know who Merry Gentry is, Miriam is not her. This just a Miriam/Severus chapter (no love, just talking), I tried to post this story on The Restricted Section, but it wasn't NC-17 enough. Meh, I like it the way it is, I don't really write dirty, I can read it though.

* * *

**Three**

Miriam wandered easily down into the dungeons. It was dark; that was to be expected. She rounded a corner and a sight not to be expected took her breath, rendering her totally speechless and immobile for more time then necessary.

Professor Snape stood in his bedroom doorway naked to the waist, tiny jets of water slowly trailing down his marble frame. He was well-built, he wasn't so much thin, he was more toned, more feral. His onyx hair was damp and hung in shadowy tangles just past his shoulders, the towel wrapped around his tapered waist left little to the imagination nor did the narrow river of hairs starting at his navel help deplete that image from her mind.

Miriam gulped, the small noise pounding in her ears, she shivered as a thrill of want went skyrocketing through her, _'Back out slowly, Miriam. Back out, go back up the stairs and act as if you've seen nothing, there is nothing to be concerned over…' _

Miriam finally listened to her thoughts and hurried back to and up the stairs. She re-entered making as much noise as possible. This received the desired effect of calling him forth from the dark recesses of his bleak hole, the undesired, well…maybe partially desired effect, was that he came out in nothing but his towel.

Miriam gulped down a sudden squeal and, in a sense, sucked up her nerve and faced Professor Snape with a stern demeanor before breaking into a lopsided grin.

"Severus, I'm sorry to intrude upon you without proper warning, it's just, well," her composure broke completely and she began giggling like a little schoolgirl, "Dear God, Severus! Why in hell didn't you put some clothes on before swaggering out here!" this of course was said brokenly through a trill of giggles.

From the expression on Snape's face, Miriam could tell that he found nothing in the current situation amusing. He was glowering at her through his partially lowered lashes, his glare both smoldering and vexing. Rivulets of water were still careening slowly down his sculpted frame and the towel was held in place as if he had just hurriedly thrown it on. He took a step towards her and Miriam took one back.

Her mind began to yell violently at her, a repertoire of, _'Run, damn you! Run! Make haste! Escape! Flee!'_ and yet she stood there, rooted firmly to the ground, challenging him with her eyes and her stance to do something about her presence, and he did.

"Professor Gentry," he hissed angrily, "I came out here in such a hurry because I thought that all hell had been loosed and my lab was in danger, now seeing that you are the cause for such a horrendous and monstrous noise, I am very glad I came, very glad indeed." he eyed her over slowly and Miriam had a terrible urge to grab his towel and run. She didn't, of course, but she really, _really_ wanted too.

"Severus," she teased softly, her soft, dark drawl diminishing the anger that had been wafting around him in thick clouds, "I'm not complete chaos," she thought for a second before quickly adding: "most of the time. I came down to speak to you about something, something rather important." as an after thought she added lamely: "Please."

Snape eyed her pensively a few more moments before making a wide berth around her and eyeing her like she was some venomous snake pit to strike at any instant, funny, she was feeling the same way about his delectable visage as well. "Speak, Miriam, and I may listen."

Miriam took a shaky breath before beginning, "Severus, I was hoping that we could talk about non-class related things. Random topics, if you will, events that have nothing to do with class subjects or itinerary," she paused, and realized with growing panic that she was rambling, "but such things are, of course, only important in class and seeing as we are not in class…"

"For Merlin's sake, woman!" Severus eventually bellowed, interrupting her never-ending tirade, "Do you have a point-of-matter to this conversation?"

Miriam winced at the scathing in his low voice, "Of course, right, sorry about this." He looked at her expectantly, "What I am about to tell you must remain between us, kept between friends; per say…. What would you say to student-teacher relations, rhetorically speaking?" The silence that passed afterwards was thick enough to choke on, and uncomfortable enough to pass for what seemed like eons.

Finally he spoke, "This is rhetorical?" Miriam nodded, "I have nothing against student-teacher relations, minding that nothing ever evolves. Lupin, a Defense Professor four years back, had quite a friendly relationship with Potter and his friends, most students enjoyed him, so I wouldn't castigate you if you wished to have a few young friends." he looked at her for a moment before concern filled his fathomless eyes, "Miriam, are you alright? You're as white as a sheet; come, sit down, let me get you something to drink. Water? Tea? You look like you could use something stronger, I am going to dress and I'll return with a nice draught of Firewhiskey, and then you can rhetorically tell me what in Merlin's name is wrong with you." He said this last bit with an endearing smirk.

By the time he had returned, Miriam had worked out exactly what she was going to say, how she was going to say it, and just what she wasn't going to say or do. Her mind, however, had different plans.

"Severus, I had several encounters, of sorts, with Harry Potter, first on the train, then in the carriage on the way to the school, and finally in my classroom only a few hours ago."

"And these encounters should concern you so much because? Now I know Potter can be a prat, but it has hardly sent anyone into vapors, well…not quite yet."

"These weren't exactly…well were not exactly teaching inspired moments, Severus, these were brief moments of insanity and…I may have made the biggest mistake of my life, a mistake that could endanger not only myself, but all of us."

"This mistake, Miriam, what was it?"

"A moment of insanity; that I fear may happen again because I'm not sure if I have the will to fight its pull." There was a dawning in Snape's eyes and he shook his head, uttering a soft: "Curses, Gentry, can't you find men your own age to satisfy your urges?"

"It's not as if this was entirely my fault, Severus, he was very persuasive." At Snape's raised eyebrow, Miriam went into the defensive, "Ok, fine, he wasn't exactly persuasive, but brute lust can have that effect at times and I had never…" Miriam abruptly shut her mouth.

Snape's eyebrow rose even higher, and his voice came out in silky, coaxing waves, "You had never what? Miriam, been with a man? Potter can hardly be classified as a man, but had you never known a touch before, you can only assume that what you felt was indeed sex in the arms of a grown man, and not some sniveling boy."

Miriam's mouth gaped just slightly, "How did…?"

"How did I know? After our meeting at _The Poison Apple_, a few things dropped into place: your secrecy, your misbegotten son, your glamour," at her shaken gasp, Snape smiled, "Don't worry, I will tell no one, but your naiveté to think that no one would wonder why an unmarried woman such as yourself would have a son was purely whimsical…I began some research and I discovered a few other things that, for your benefit, I will keep solely to myself. But your virginity, that was apparent due to your glamour," when Miriam made no motion to speak or ask why, he continued, "An experienced woman, were she trying to hide, would not take on the illusion of every teenage boys' wet dream."

Miriam flushed a brilliant cherry-red, "Bravo, Severus," her husky voice was deceptively soft with only the faintest trace of anger, "While trying to find a way around my walls, did you ever stop to think of why I may have them there in the first place?" with that she turned on her heel and marched out of the dungeons, leaving Severus Snape to stare unabashed in her wake.

_'Men!'_ her mind screamed, _'They think they know tit from tat, but when it comes to secrets or sex, they'll try their damndest to get to both!' _all Miriam could think of in reply was a lame: "Here, here!" she slammed into her bedroom and stopped dead…

In the middle of her bed someone had left a bouquet of roses, petals from hundreds of others lay strewn around till her room looked like a lake of eerily calm blood. A note on the table read:

_Miriam,_

_Here's a rose for every time I've thought of you._

_I can't wait to see you again, you're the one thing in my life that matters, _

_and you understand me completely. I believe I may be in love with you._

_Forever yours,_

_Harry_

Hell had frozen over, and Miriam was going to have to avoid both the Devil and the Hero, unfortunately, she couldn't quite seem to make out who was who.

* * *

A/N- I must get to my History of Cinema class now, remember, if you don't review yourselves and have someone else tell me things, I still will believe no one reads and it will not get posted. So review and I will post. That may be a threat, I'm still considering it. 


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